Panel Passes ‘Common Sense’ Tweak To School Gun Policies

A bill backed by the National Rifle Association that lawmakers said would add “common sense” to zero-tolerance policies for s in public schools sailed through a House education panel on Wednesday.

The measure (PCB KTS 14-02) by House Judiciary Chairman Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, would prevent children from being disciplined for simulating a gun while playing or wearing clothes that depict firearms.

Baxley called the measure “the pop-tart bill” — a reference to a widely reported news story about a Maryland 7-year-old who was suspended from school last year for chewing his breakfast pastry into the shape of a gun.

“Obviously we don’t want firearms brought to school in a backpack,” Baxley said. “But we were definitely having some over-reactions.”

According to national news reports, incidents have included punishing students for drawing a picture of a gun, using a finger as an imaginary gun while making the sound of a gun, owning a miniature gun on a keychain, owning a gun made of Legos and wearing a National Rifle Association T-shirt to school.

In Florida, Fox News reported, an 8-year-old boy was suspended from Harmony Community School in the Central Florida community of Harmony after using his finger as a gun while playing cops and robbers with friends. Jordan Bennett was suspended for a day after school administrators said the gesture was an act of violence.

The stories didn’t sound far-fetched to members of the House K-12 Subcommittee, who added their own.

Rep. Carl Zimmermann, a Palm Harbor Democrat and high-school journalism teacher, recalled a student who — weeks before her graduation — was found to have a pink water pistol in the back seat of her car and “wasn’t allowed to walk to graduation” as a result.

Rep. Karen Castor Dentel, a Maitland Democrat and a public-school teacher, said the zero-tolerance policies often prevent administrators from using their common sense “because their hands are tied. I support the bill so that people will be able to have that flexibility.”

Florida law requires district school boards to adopt policies of zero tolerance for crime and victimization, requiring, among other things, that students found in possession of firearms or weapons at school, at school functions or on school transportation be expelled for a minimum of one year and referred to the criminal-justice or juvenile-justice system.

Critics have called the zero-tolerance policy the “school-to-prison pipeline” for criminalizing childish or adolescent behavior. The American Civil Liberties Union called the policy “a disturbing national trend wherein children are funneled out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal-justice systems. Many of these children have learning disabilities or histories of poverty, abuse or neglect. …Students of color are especially vulnerable to push-out trends and the discriminatory application of discipline.”

Rep. Ronald Renuart, R-Ponte Vedra Beach, said the bill would give guidance to school boards and school officials that they should “take a step back, take a breath and realize that decisions they’re making are really affecting our students.”

Rep. Gwyn Clarke-Reed, a Deerfield Beach Democrat and a retired educator, asked Baxley whether the problems he was trying to address could have been handled internally within the school districts.

“I suppose there’s always a way things can be handled,” Baxley replied. “But this is the way a legislator can handle it.”

The K-12 Subcommittee passed the measure 13-0.

After the vote, NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer said the bill isn’t about guns.

“This bill is about children, and stopping children from being traumatized when adults lack good common sense or the capacity to make rational judgments,” she said. “Zero tolerance should not mean zero common sense. Unfortunately, it seems to.”

The Oklahoma Legislature is considering a similar measure, called the Common Sense Zero Tolerance Act.

Comments

“Rep. Karen Castor Dentel, a Maitland Democrat and a public-school teacher, said the zero-tolerance policies often prevent administrators from using their common sense “because their hands are tied. I support the bill so that people will be able to have that flexibility.”

So……..sort of like mandatory minimum sentences, then?

EMD on
February 6th, 2014 11:12 am

Should teachers without common sense be teaching our children? Now, we have to legislate sanity. Thank God for teachers with common sense and for legislators willing to take action while some are schooled in common sense.

>> Elijah Bell
Exactly…there are many times when school teachers and administrators are bound by laws and regulations from the state and federal governments to make reports concerning minor incidents where a few years ago a parent meeting or phone call would take care of things.
Common sense is still there in the schools but regulated by those who are overly protective.
Example, the kindergarten boy suspended for “sexual assault” when he kissed a girl on the cheek and considerations to label him as a sexual offender. Kids can’t play Cops and Robbers without getting written up.
Wonder if any of our brilliant legislators ever looked at a map of the state of Florida? Even to the most casual observer it looks like — a GUN.
Stay tuned, Florida Legislature may determine the state outline must be changed so not to offend anyone..

Barry on
February 6th, 2014 8:00 am

Mark, common sense and a willingness to fight for what is right is the only thing that is going to save this country from the road to perdition that it is on.

RG on
February 6th, 2014 6:26 am

It’s great to see our legislators acting based on common sense. Another big step in the same, right direction would be to authorize school employees who have concealed carry permits to carry while on the job. This would be a powerful deterrent to protect students from would-be shooters.

Elijah Bell on
February 6th, 2014 6:10 am

Mark, Teachers use “Common Sense” every day. What gets in their way is the lack of common sense that out “Leaders” fail to exibit. This includes those at the school level all the way to the top in Washington DC.

Mark on
February 6th, 2014 5:31 am

Educator’s to apply “Common Sense”, now that’s a joke!

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